I am not a political genius.
This might seem like an awkward way to end a very political month, but it’s true. All I do is state the obvious and point out –what should be –common sense. Anybody can do this.
Which begs the question why those who fancy themselves as political geniuses can never do so when making a political argument? Because if they did, I wouldn’t have to remind people that the “Liberal Socialist Agenda” accusation is the worst case of partisan bullshit that I have heard since Democrats accusing the Bush administration for 9/11.
Honestly, you could open Microsoft Word, slam your head against the keyboard a few times, and the onscreen result would make for a more reasonable argument than what comes from our elected public officials.
Don’t believe me? How do you think I managed to type this after watching the CPAC?
The ugly truth is that political debate in this country has become eerily similar to how video game console fan boys engage in fruitless yelling matches over which coveted system is best. Broad statements, half-truths, and blatant lies are the foundation of a modern day political argument. Republicans like Sarah Palin took a provision concerning end-of-life care for patients and turned them into “Death Panels.” Democrats, like Al Gore, took the Patriot Act and deemed it a “political tool to consolidate [the Bush administration’s] power.” What’s unbelievable is that both policies are meant to, in a sense, do the same thing: save American lives. Yet, instead of pushing this kind of legislation along, it has to be dragged through by one party while the other party throws a tantrum because it isn’t the one they wanted.
Remind you of a child at the mall? It should. I would send Congress a box of pacifiers with a note that says “get on with it” if I wasn’t so sure that most of them weren’t already in diapers.
Speaking of my role in politics, I have been accused of not using enough facts in these articles. While I agree that I should go a bit deeper when it comes to tackling certain issues, I find it difficult to do so when we live in a country that is selectively ignorant. When I say “selectively ignorant,” I mean to say that we only hear what we want to hear.
It’s why conservatives watch Fox News, liberals watch CNN, and why both watch MSNBC to have a good laugh. If you ever watched two people go at it politically, each person has their own fun fact that contradicts their opponents.
Both fire back and forth in a match of verbal table tennis until one is backed into a corner. However, instead of admitting when one is proven wrong, a political genius just segues to an adjacent topic and continues the match. Even the professionals, the politicians and the pundits, take part in this nonsense. How can we learn everything when both sides are supposedly wrong and right at the same time?
Political arguments shouldn’t be a test of nutrition. In fact, they shouldn’t even be arguments. What these “political geniuses” doesn’t seem to get is that both parties want what’s best for the country. We might have different ideas about how to go about it, but that doesn’t mean we have to reduce ourselves to accusing one another of being “retards” or “Hitler.”
Try having a political discussion instead of a political fight. Familiarize yourself with the cons of the policies you support, not just the pros. For God’s sake Blazers, act like rational adults instead of devoted brats with an agenda.
For those of you who refuse to mature past your zealot-like political nature, I encourage you to pick up a pacifier next to the Spectator stand in West Hall. If anything, it will keep your mouth shut while the adults are talking.